


figments of the mind

by decato



Category: Free!
Genre: Abusive Parents, Alternate Universe - Psycho-Pass, Blood and Violence, Gen, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Makoharu Fanfiction Festival, Multi, Other, tags will be updated as fic progresses because /spoilers/
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-26
Updated: 2015-01-26
Packaged: 2018-03-09 04:47:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3236798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/decato/pseuds/decato
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Sibyl System, the perfect representation of a neutral, omnipotent power to judge all, the turning point in the future evolution of Japan, a change right from its very foundations. Its only cause is to ensure the beneficial growth of its country and people.</p><p>To Haru, none of that has ever mattered to him. For someone who is neither the face of an ideal citizen nor on the side of the opposition, his goals in life could be considered almost primitive, the perfect picture of average. </p><p>It’s when you’re not paying attention at the bigger picture that sometimes, you might just be looking at it in all the wrong ways</p>
            </blockquote>





	figments of the mind

**Author's Note:**

> (for prompt #42: Psycho Pass!AU where Makoto is the enforcer and Haruka the inspector)
> 
> This is basically the brainchild of me, Myra and Sakura (tsuyori). Mostly, this is what happens when you allow us to discuss fic together before a con with less than three hours of sleep. I officially think that we think up the most fucked up ideas at times when we are all sleep-deprived. 
> 
> The tags in this fic will be updated from time to time as the fic progresses as some of them are potential spoiler-ish as well as certain archive warnings or ratings. For the moment, this fic still remains an innocent baby (somewhat).
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!

“There’s an error in your report. I need you to re-do it.”

Sousuke turns away from his screen to look at Haru, the expression on his face passive and unmoving. “I double-checked it before giving it to you. There aren’t any errors in the report.”

“There are,” Haru states, voice clear and steady. At the corner of his eye, he watches as Rin slumps slightly into his seat and sighs in resignation. “I clearly don’t remember ‘standing there doing nothing which prompted Inspector Yamazaki to act out on his own accord while the rest of the Enforcers were busy chasing down the suspect.’”

“Which is exactly what you were doing,” Sousuke states firmly.

“No, since I was the one who actually caught him in the end while you had decided to rush off in the opposite direction.”

Sousuke’s voice starts rising, almost irritated as he stands up from his chair, fists clenched. “That doesn’t change the fact that you were just standing there and happened to chance upon a lucky opportunity that doesn’t get you kicked off from your job and cleaning up your desk.”

Haru resists the urge to almost roll his eyes and flip off the taller man, shoulders and back already aching from all the paperwork that was waiting for him the moment he had gotten back. “If you would recall exactly what had happened, I had instructed the Enforcers to corner him to heading towards our direction where we were suppose to be _waiting_ on standby for him. I guess I’m sorry that I forgot that you have such selective memory at times.”

Right before Sousuke has an arm stretched out and ready to grab at Haru’s collar, there is the loud sound of Rin clearing his throat as he pushes his chair back, a tired look of frustration in his eyes. “It has already been the fifth time this month that our Division has gotten reported for property damage inside of the MWPSB and I’ve had to work overtime for it. While I don’t like solitary confinement inside an isolation ward, having to work for more than 24 hours cleaning up the mess you guys make is right next to it in things that I hate in life.”

It’s a couple of moments in silence. Rin is eyeing the both of them wearily like he’s expecting someone to throw the first punch before all Hell breaks loose but Haru knows enough and has been in this situation far more than he is comfortable with to know that Sousuke won’t push for more confrontation as he watches him take in a big breath that sounds more like a sigh as he exhales and goes to sit himself back at his desk, back facing Haru.

“I’ll re-edit that part,” Sousuke says, as soon as Rin is seated back and has started clicking away at his own keyboard.

Haru nods, even if Sousuke can’t see him do so. It’s just at that moment that Makoto barges in, out of breath and slightly sweaty due to running down the hallways.

“I’m-” Makoto tries to even out his own breathing, hand to his chest and another leaning against the nearest tabletop. “I’m sorry I’m late. I got caught up with something on the way.”

“Huh, wasn’t it Kisumi who’s suppose to be on this shift?” Rin asks, leaning back in his chair as he looks at Makoto.

Haru pinches the bridge of his nose, as if resigned. “Did he ask you to replace him again, Makoto?”

This causes Makoto to grin, somewhat awkward and nervous as he scratches at the back of his neck, saying, “Well, he said he was busy with something that needed to be done today so I said I really didn’t mind taking over his shift if that were the case.”

“So which girl was he hitting on this time?” Sousuke asks, eyes still glued to his screen as he typed away. “And don’t bother trying to cover up for him. Everyone in this Division knows just exactly what he would skip a shift for.”

The expression on Makoto’s face looks so choked up and apologetic, trying to answer despite the words stuck in his throat that Haru just puts up a hand to stop him. “Where is he right now?”

“Around the first floor’s Administration Desk.”

It only takes a glance in Rin’s direction before he gets off his seat, waving the rest of them off in a nonchalant manner as he steps out, bumping shoulders against Makoto. “Yes, yes. I’ll go get him. Don’t destroy anything while I’m away, please.”

The minutes tick off silently in between the three of them and by the time Rin is hauling Kisumi into the office by the scruff of his jacket, Makoto has already taken his seat, albeit the slightly guilty look on his face while Haru is still standing, the expression on his face unreadable if it weren’t for the slightly irritated tick beneath the corner of his eye.

The grin on Kisumi’s face tells Haru that the pink-haired man regrets nothing in his action and Rin tries not to sigh yet again because it’s been a habit he’s acquired ever since he’s joined Division 1 and has had to deal with the equivalence of overgrown children. Despite their apparently solid reputation on the field, Division 1 would be the very definition of mismatched, a team of contrasting personalities that just seemed volatile when mixed together that everyone had actually been surprised when they had kept up their name as Chief Amakata’s most relied on Division in the MWPSB in the recent years.

“Kisumi, you’re here to work and not to flirt with anything that walks on two legs,” Haru tells him, idly recalling the time when he had first joined the Division and Kisumi had thought that he had batted for the other team, setting his sights on him for the first couple of months before Haru had almost ‘mistakenly’ aimed at the other’s crotch during one of their missions. “Stop shoving your shifts to Makoto and just do what you have to do.”

“I thought having the appropriate social skills was part of our job,” Kisumi says, grin growing wider on his face until his teeth show. “So essentially, I was still doing work.”

Haru just stares at him, trying to will some sort of laser beam out of his eyes that will melt a hole into Kisumi’s head, hoping he’s coming off as menacing enough since he’s never been particularly good at intimidation. Unfortunately, Kisumi seems to take it as Haru admiring his face.

“Are you entranced by my good looks, Haru-chan? If you want, we could always hang out together in my b-”

Thankfully, Sousuke stops him, despite all their disagreements and faults with each other because even Sousuke knows that Kisumi has a talent for pushing all the wrong buttons at the right - or wrong, depending on how you looked at it - time. “If you finish that sentence, not even I will be able to help you if Haruka really decides to shoot you in the crotch the next time for real.”

As Kisumi grimaces at the memory and unconsciously covers the mentioned area, Rin taps him over his head with the case file in his hand, getting back into his seat. “Come on, we’ve got work to do and I want to finish it before the day is over.”

Kisumi tilts his head, standing behind Rin as he reads what is on his screen. “Eh, isn’t stuff like this for Rei to do? He’s the analyst, after all.”

“He’s an analyst, not a slave. He’s juggling a bunch of other things so I told him that we’d try to help since it’s partially our reason why he has so much to handle at times anyway,” Sousuke says, taking a slight break to lean back against his chair as he pinches the bridge of his nose.

“And Haru-chan actually agreed to something that Sousuke requested?”

“It was a practical decision so I don’t see why I would have be against it. Besides, you’re the only one here in Division 1 who is incapable of doing paperwork.” Haru has given up on the attempt to bore holes into Kisumi’s head and is going through his own stack of files instead. “Even Nagisa manages to get things done when he has to. Also, I thought I told you to stop adding ‘chan’ at the end of my name.”

While that shuts up a pouting Kisumi - muttering under his breath “But it’s such a cute name that anyone would want to be called,” - who slinks back into his seat and attempts to open up files like they are man-eating venus fly traps, Makoto is still typing away, the guilt still remaining.

Haru notices, only because it is in his nature to, seeing their line of work. “Makoto, you don’t really have to be here now that Kisumi is back.”

“But I would feel bad if I left now,” Makoto tells him, that slight smile on his face that he always manages to plaster on despite the situation. “Besides, I have some stuff I want to finish as well so you don’t have to count this as overtime for me.”

Haru looks at him for awhile before nodding. He’s learnt in his 4 years as Inspector that while Makoto is someone who is prone to bending to the will of others, he is also stubborn when he wants to be.

It’s a rare, slow day and they don’t get called out for any emergency cases so Haru counts his few lucky stars that he gets to go home early today, only to bump into Nagisa on the way to the parking lot.

“Oh, sorry Haru-chan! I was a little bit distracted,” Nagisa says, rubbing the back of his neck as he laughs absentmindedly.

“It’s alright,” Haru tells him and tries to bite back his tongue about telling Nagisa to not use that endearment on him the same way Kisumi does because of the ton of weird nicknames that Nagisa had came up with in a week at the time that Haru had decided to ban him for ever using the term. “I thought you were off-duty a couple of hours ago so you wouldn’t be around the main building anymore.

“Hmm? Ah, Rei-chan asked if I could help him with some stuff so I just went there after I was done.”

“I see.” There is never much conversation between Nagisa and Haru whenever they are alone so Haru shuffles his feet a little before continuing to walk, words of parting settling on his tongue that felt awkward to utter and he sees Nagisa smile slightly at the corner of his eye like he knows as he heads off in his own direction.

As if mocking his utter lack of socialising skills, his communicator starts beeping, a message sent directly from the head office itself. Skimming through the already brief message, Haru sighs and turns back towards the main building, mouth in sudden desperate need of a smoke despite his years of abstaining from tobacco and nicotine.

Emergency overtime, after all, was the bane of his existence.

 

 

 

\--

 

 

 

The first time Haru remembers holding a gun in his hand is during his 5th birthday, a present from his aunt that was coupled with a cartridge of foam bullets and a sticker replacement of a dartboard, all wrapped up inside a cardboard box.

Made out of plastic with no real model in mind in terms of structure, it is ridiculously light in Haru’s hand, hardly a realistic image of a machine that was originally designed for precision and death.

When Haru takes aim for the first time, trying his best to get as closest to a bullseye as possible, his hand misses and instead hits one of his mother’s favourite porcelain dolls resting on their antique cabinet.

Lucky enough not to incur the wrath of an angry mother, a couch cushion manages to support its fall, not a crack in place in its fragile makings as Haru manages to quickly place it back in its original place before anyone in his family realises.

Hands shaking slightly, it is months later in one of his science classes when Haru realises it was less the fear than the adrenaline rush that had caused the unconscious trembling, the pull of the trigger and the dangers of almost getting in trouble with those older and above him.

With time and practice, the gun eventually bends to his will, hardly missing any intended shots as long as Haru himself remained focused. Sure, he still knocks down a couple of things in the process when he isn’t concentrating hard enough, some breakable and some not but the fear gradually disappears the more he pulls the trigger, knowing that while broken, they can still be fixed and fallen things can always be put back into their proper places no matter how many times they topple down.

He shoots the gun enough times that even when he watches the television every night with his parents, either a detective series or an action flick, with someone lying in a pool of their own blood and ‘dying’ from a gunshot wound; that there is no real damage, that they can pick themselves back up on their feet at the end of the shoot and laugh it all off like nothing has ever happened.

It is a painted picture of death without the consequences and Haru never thinks about it any further than that.

The Dominator, while a solid presence in his hands unlike that plastic gun he had been gifted during his 5th birthday, is something that Haru barely even notices when he is first handed it by his senior Inspector during his first field mission.

He doesn’t notice it until he is close to being 23 during his first major case, the victims a pair of siblings who had been sexually abused by their single father and then slaughtered messily, the crime scene painted like an abstract picture that had caused Makoto to become green around the gills, about ready to throw up his breakfast that morning. Rin had merely shown a disgusted expression at the sight, cursing under his breath while Nagisa remained himself, if only a little more passive than usual due to the atmosphere.

There are both 7 and 10 respectively, based on their profiles in the report. Haru can barely tell from the bodies by how disfigured they look on their kitchen floor, a mess of limbs and blood that Haru can’t differentiate head to tail from.

It takes them less than a week to find their murderer, scanners detecting him from half a mile away the moment he steps out of hiding. The irony, Haru thinks, is how impeccable his suit looks, how his hair is made up with spotlessly clean hands as he attempts to run away from them. If an outsider had been looking at the situation, it would have probably looked like the man had decided to go to work on any other ordinary day before getting chased by the police.

The first time Haru remembers ever pulling the trigger of the Dominator on Lethal Eliminator mode is when he is close to being 23, in a back alley that he can barely recall, sweat rolling down the back of his neck from the heat of the afternoon sun.

The gun is pointed at a man so impeccably dressed that the situation almost feels unreal to Haru, hazy like a dream he’s about to wake up from.

Except this isn’t a dream, finger still resting on the trigger, the Dominator’s weight suddenly the only presence that his mind can register, omnipotent judgement resting against the palms of his hands.

The scent of iron rises to his nose, the bloody painting painted behind his irises as he stares at that suit, that pristine suit, a contradiction to the 462 that seems to cover more than half of Haru’s sight.

When he pulls the trigger, it feels as weightless as his first toy gun, like a breath of oxygen with only remnant of bloody remains painting the concrete by the time Makoto and Rin catch up to him, chests heaving from the run.

Broken beyond repair, unable to be put back after a fall; Death’s final Judgement. The consequences that no television show would ever be able to emulate, that no one would ever be able to walk away from and just laugh at.

(Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the King’s horses and all the King’s men, couldn’t put Humpty together again.)

“Are you alright?” Makoto had asked him on their way back, Rin tailing behind them as they walked forward.

“Huh?”

“That was your first time firing the Lethal Eliminator, after all.” There is an expression on Makoto’s face that Haru reads off as concern. “Most people aren’t used to pulling the trigger when it comes to ending a life when they first start this job, no matter how prepared they are for the situation.”

Pondering for a moment at the question, Haru answers, “It’s my job to be an extension of the Sibyl System when it comes to judgement at situations where morality is concerned. I wouldn’t pull the trigger if it wasn’t necessary.”

“Necessary?” Makoto asks.

“I suppose you could say I pulled the trigger simply because it was the right thing to do, in all judgements. Just because he looked like the average salaryman didn’t mean that he was. Appearances lie much better than words do.”

“Appearances, huh,” Makoto echoes out as he puts a hand to his chin, pondering at Haru’s words with bright eyes and the conversation ends there.

 

 

 

\--

 

 

 

“I don’t understand why people like to mutilate bodies. Just the sight of it makes me grateful that I didn’t eat lunch today or it would have all gone to waste and I was suppose to go get dinner before I got called for this,” Kisumi says as he eyes the screen distastefully before turning to Nagisa who is basically stuffing his face with savory buns. “Do you have a stomach of steel or something?”

“Bwut I’m hungwey,” Nagisa says around a mouthful of a bun stuffed in his mouth, both hands holding a plastic bag that was filled to the brim.

Rei sighs at the sight. “You’re going to choke if you talk while you’re stuffing yourself like that.”

By some miracle, Nagisa manages some semblance of a grin despite his stuffed cheeks. “Trust me, we both know I’ve handled more than this.”

Haru ignores the wink that Nagisa gives at the end of his sentence, Kisumi attempting not to blanch at the whole situation. There was no one else in the room, as Sousuke and Makoto were off-duty, the former leaving earlier while Rin had paid up with enough overtime that Haru didn’t really mind that he hadn’t came.

Clearing his throat to get the rest of their attention, Rei relays the case to them. “The victim is a middle-aged woman who works for a publishing company. Her body was found this way yesterday near a medical facility at some backstreet alleyway where a couple of people had noticed that there was a strong stench being emitted there. I can’t exactly tell what her COD is since there was nothing much to work with regarding the condition of the body however, I am currently analysing the back security cameras of the facility to see if we can find anything unusual that might have happened during the time frame. As far as I can tell, there isn’t much to work with at the moment.”

“This looks like a lot of hatred to me. Maybe a past lover or rival?” Kisumi chimes out as they continue to look at the crime scene.

“I highly doubt so. While it looks messy, hatred isn’t always the motivation towards leaving such an bloodied scene behind.” Haru steps behind of Rei, who is almost furiously typing away at his keyboard. “Do you mind linking me the footage so I can go through it as well?”

“What makes Haru-chan so sure about it?” Nagisa asks as he finally swallows, question more from curiousity than anything.

Haru merely replies with, “Because you should never trust in just appearances.”

Kisumi just laughs at the statement and covers his mouth like its some sort of inside joke that none of them will ever get. “Haru-chan, that is such a ridiculously cliche answer, coming from someone like you.”

Haru ignores the obvious verbal jab at him. “You aren’t denying it.”

Kisumi’s grin widens, like an uncanny resemblance to the Cheshire Cat as his arms are spread wide over the length of the couch, leaning back nonchalantly. “It is a policy of mine to never show whether I consider something to be the right or wrong answer.”

(Avoidance is, in Haru’s opinion, an answer in its own way.)


End file.
